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The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus legend was first rendered by Jacob of Serugh around 500 AD and popularized by Gregory of Tours. Its Western version also was part of the widely distributed Golden Legend hagiography collection compiled by Jacobus de Voragine about 1260. The cult became common during the Crusades of the High and Late Middle Ages, and June 27 was declared a commemoration day in most of the Catholic dioceses. Contrary to popular belief, the name of the day does not refer to the edible dormouse (Glis glis), a rodent known as Siebenschläfer in German for its seven-months hibernation.

The Seven Sleepers singularity is contested as quite inaccurate in practice. Objections have been raised that the weather lore associated with the day might have arisen before the 1582 Gregoriancalendar reform, and as at this time the difference to the Julian calendar amounted to ten days, July 7 would be the actual Seven Sleepers Day. Based on this date the prediction has a slightly increased probability of about 55-70%, if confined to the southern parts of Germany, where the rule seems to have originated.[1][2][3] In contrast, the weather lore is not applicable to Northern Germany and its rather oceanic climate.